


And then... we go on.

by Harky21



Series: KRTKweek2k16 [4]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, KuroTsuki Week 2016, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-10
Updated: 2016-07-10
Packaged: 2018-07-21 22:22:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7407433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Harky21/pseuds/Harky21
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>And then…<br/>And then what?<br/>He certainly didn’t know. It wouldn’t even be a proper sentence. His was the first part of the mantra and everyone knows that you never start a sentence with a conjunction.<br/>Except, apparently, his mantra.</p>
            </blockquote>





	And then... we go on.

He glared at the couple in the corner of the coffee shop.

They were loud and giggly and couldn’t keep their hands to themselves.

They must’ve recently figured out their mantra. They kept turning their wrists over, looking at it.

He rolled his eyes and turned up the volume of his music. A weak attempt at trying to drown them out.

He _always_ tried to drown it out.

The whole mantra thing.

Thinking about it brought up to many questions and no answers. Like why did the universe decide people needed clues to find their deepest connection? Why couldn't people find them themselves? How do you know which words made your mantra? (Since words were words and they can be rearranged and changed and mixed in so many ways to mean so many different things.) Would he ever actually _find_ his mantra?

He began to tap his pencil to the beat of the song he was listening to, mind wandering further.

They said that finding your mantra completed you in a way none other could. Like adding water to a glass filled with pebbles, it filled in all of the holes. One person, you just had to find that one person. The person who completed the stupid little words on your wrist.

And it _was_ stupid, right? That to be complete you needed others? That you couldn't be your own complete entity without someone _else_?

And how were you supposed to know it was the _right_ someone else. Kei could think of so many ways to finish his. But they said you just knew. That when it was the right person, something clicked in a way no others could.

Kei didn’t know if he believed that. That you could "click" with someone. But part of him desperately wanted to… because while he told himself it was all stupid and useless… he wanted to know.

He wanted to meet that person the universe had designated for him.

Maybe then he wouldn’t feel so lonely.

Kei sighed, pulling up the watch on his left wrist to stare at his again.

_And then…_

And then what?

He certainly didn’t know. It wouldn’t even be a proper sentence. His was the first part of the mantra and _everyone_ knows that you never start a sentence with a conjunction.

Except, apparently, his mantra.

(Although despite the incorrect grammar he had to admit he liked it. Having the first part. He liked having the ellipse after his words instead of on both sides or a period or comma like others did.)

Kei huffed, looking back up at laptop and his half finished paper.

_And then…_

He felt a tap on his shoulder.

He immediately pulled off his headphones, and looked up from his table to a man with a mess of black hair and piercing smoky-quartz eyes.

Kei’s stomach flipped.

The man was wearing dark slim fit jeans, a black band shirt, and a red plaid overshirt. The black haired man, tilted his head toward the seat to Kei's right, “Is it?” he asked again.

“Is it what?” Kei asked confused.

“Is this seat taken?” The man grinned.

“No,” Kei's brow furrowed. _Why are you even asking?_  

The other nodded, setting down a steaming cup of something ( _c_ _hai? It kind of smells like chai)_ and pulling out a notebook and computer from his bag.

Once the dark haired man was seated, Kei started to feel a buzz beneath his skin. He couldn’t help but feel hyper aware of the other's presence. Every move he made set off a cacophony of alarms in the blond.

Kei edged his seat a bit further away and tried focusing again on his paper.

The stranger seemed to have other ideas.

“What are you working on?” he asked, looking a bit over Kei’s shoulder.

“Nothing,” he replied, eyes remaining on his computer.

"It can't be _nothing."_ The man's voice lilted in a sing-song tone. _Annoying_.

Kei glared at him and put his headphones back on.

Luckily the dark-haired man didn't attempt to continue the conversation, so Kei did his best to keep his eyes trained on his paper and his fingers dancing across the keyboard.

But that proved easier said than done. Especially when he kept blatantly staring.

After about an hour, Kei sighed, exasperated, and pulled his headphones off.

"Can I help you?" he bit out.

The side of the others mouth quirked up in amusement.

"Actually yes,” he purred, “you can tell me your name."

"And why would I do something like that?" Kei stared at him flatly.

“Because you’re cute,” he gave devilish grin. Kei was almost tempted, but decided better of it.

“Maybe next time,” he rolled his eyes, shutting his computer and packing his things.

“I’ll be counting on it,” the other man winked.

Kei left the coffee shop, fully aware of the other’s eyes still on his back, doubtful he’d ever see him again.

* * *

He saw him the next day.

And the next.

And the next.

And everyday after for an entire week.

Part of that may have been Kei’s fault. Something kept pulling him back to the coffee shop. Maybe it was the tingle he felt when he was near Kuroo. Maybe it was his eyes. Maybe it was that stupid lopsided smile. Kei didn’t really know what it was, but he was starting to kind of liked it.

“Tsukki!”

“I told you not to call me that,” he grumbled out as he took the seat next to him.

“But it’s cute. Like you,” Kuroo smiled back.

“I also told you not to call me that either,” he scowled.

“I only speak the truth, Tsukki. So what’re you doing today? More nothing?”

It had become a thing. Kuroo would ask what Kei was doing. Kei always said nothing.

“Yup,” he nodded, pulling out his Bones, Stones, and Human Evolution text. Kuroo knew by now, he was sure, what subjects he was studying. He stared enough. “What’re you working on today?”

“Gender in Society. I have a test coming up,” he mumbled, turning back to his notebook and the pile flashcards he was making.

“What’s your major?” The question was asked before he could think.

Kuroo smiles, “Oh, finally taking an interest are we?”

“Forget I asked,” Kei turns back to his own work.

“Anthropology,” he says.

“Really?” Kei wouldn’t have pegged him for that.

“Yeah. I mean, I couldn’t really decide for a while. I still don’t know which area I want to work in, but I find the material interesting. And It’s the study of humans, and humans study everything, so if I study them I can switch and study anything else later, right?” He shrugged, more to himself than anything, eyes still trained on his notebook.

Kei smiled a bit at the thought. “Yeah, I guess so.”

He opened his book, looking at the cladogram they were supposed to study for lab.

“And what’s a physics major doing studying phys anth?” Kuroo raised an eyebrow.

“Gen ed,” he sighed.

“Well let me know if you need help. I did really well in that class,” he mentioned, looking back to his own text.

Kei nodded.

Maybe he could get used to this. To studying with Kuroo. It didn’t feel so… lonely anymore.

* * *

It kept happening. They both kept going to the cafe to study and Kei kept learning more about Kuroo.

At first it was the big things, like how he always gets a chai latte and how he only uses yellow highlighters. But then its the little things, like how he chews on his lip while he’s concentrating and how he runs his hand through his hair absentmindedly while reading.

It was’t till Kei realized he learned these things that he started thinking.

He usually doesn’t notice other people, let alone _details_ about other people. In fact, he doesn’t even usually spend this much _time_ around other people. But Kuroo... Kuroo is easy to be around, easy to listen to, easy to talk to when Kei has something to say (which he somehow does even when he usually wouldn't). It’s like Kuroo had some key that no one else had. The one that opened Kei up.

So then he starts to wonder.

And he finds that every time Kuroo comes and sits beside him, his eyes are inevitably pulled to the other man’s left wrist.

He was starting to wonder what his words were… and if they maybe could be a match for his.

They both kept them covered. A lot of people did. (Who wanted people to constantly be trying to catch a glimpse of their wrist?)

“What’re you thinking about?”

Kei’s eyes snapped over to the man next to him.

“Just this physics problem,” he replied glancing back down at his paper.

“Must be a hard problem,” Kuroo gave him a soft smile, “You’ve been staring at it for a long time.”

Kei felt the heat rise in his cheeks. “Umm, not really, just... thinking of which way would be the fastest to solve it,” he rushes out redirecting his gaze down.

Kuroo hums in acknowledgement and when Kei glances back up, he’s still looking at him, a smile he hasn’t seen before gracing his lips.

When they make eye contact he doesn’t turn away.

Kei does, the small buzz beneath his skin increasing.

* * *

He fell in step beside him.

It was the first time they were meeting outside of the cafe.

Kuroo had mentioned a movie he wanted to see. Kei made the mistake of saying he wanted to see it too.

So here they were. Walking to the theater. Together.

So closely that their hands kept knocking into each other and Kei felt like an electric current was running through him, a constant hum that just kept getting stronger.

Kei had noticed.

It was hard not to.

How Kuroo would look at him when he he thought Kei wouldn’t see, how he started to order Kei’s coffee for him before he got to the cafe, how he kept feeling like something was pulling him in further and further.

Kei’s never felt this way with anyone in such a short period of time.

The thought _Is he my mantra?_ was now constantly plaguing his mind.

It’d been a month and a half since they met, and the subject of mantras never came up.

Kei kept his hidden beneath his watch, and Kuroo had been wearing long sleeved shirts and sweatshirts, so Kei hadn’t seen his either.

Kei wanted so badly to know, but he was too nervous to ask.

What if Kuroo thought he was crazy? What if he thought Kei was desperate? What if their words didn’t match? _What if they did?_

“Kei?” Kuroo was leaning down, looking up at him, taking up his entire line of sight.

“What?” he tried to act like he hadn’t just missed something the other said.

“I just asked if you wanted to grab dinner after the movie,” he smiled.

“Oh.”

Kuroo waited a moment for Kei to respond. “So? Do you?”

“Oh, yes, sorry,” Kei cursed himself mentally.

Kuroo studied him a moment before asking, “Are you ok? You’ve been lost in your head quite a bit recently.”

“Yeah,” Kei replied casually. “Just a lotta school work recently. I haven’t been getting enough sleep.”

“Don’t wear yourself down too much, Tsukki,” he nudged him, small shocks sparking across his shoulder.

Kei kept his head down to hide the blush he knew was on his cheeks.

* * *

“What’d you think of the movie?” Kuro asked.

“It was good. Pretty typical action film, but good,” Kei replied.

The movie _was_ good, but also torture.

Kei found himself constantly looking at the man next to him, and the leg that he’d only have to move about an inch over to touch and the hand that he could easily let his fall on top of and the shoulder that he could just as easily place his head on.

Kei had never wanted to physically touch someone so much in his life.

He looked at the man beside him again, then down to his wrist. _I should ask. But…  
_

“Yeah, I agree. Where did you wanna go for dinner?” He smiled at Kei, who snapped his eyes back up.

“Umm,” Kei didn’t actually go many places other than the cafe, “how about you pick where we go since you bought the movie tickets,” he said. Kei still felt bad about that, but Kuroo had insisted. Kei would just insist on buying dinner.

“How about the cafe? They have good sandwiches and it’s our spot anyway,” he smiled. The soft one that made Kei feel like he was going to melt.

“Okay,” he near whispered in reply, heart skipping. _Our spot_.

They made their way back to the cafe in relative silence, a small comment here and there about the movie or something on the street. When they arrived, they didn’t go to the line of seats at the bar. They got a table and sat across from each other.

Kei’s hands soon weaved together. Kuroo was in front of him. His full attention at this point was _on him_.

“So what’re you gonna get? The usual?” Kuroo asks looking up at the board.

“Yeah, and maybe just some cake. What would you like? I’ll buy,” Kei started to get up from the table.

“You don’t need to…”

“Kuroo, you bought my ticket earlier. What would you like?” Kei cut him off.

Kuroo’s mouth quirked. “Ok, I’ll have a chai and the cranberry turkey sandwich.”

Kei nodded and went to the counter, fingers still worrying each other. He ordered, waited, then brought the food back over.

He looked down at his cake, then back up at Kuroo as he took a bite of his sandwich.

Kei took a deep breath. “Hey, Kuroo?”

“Hmm.”

“Umm, what do you think about, uh, mantras?” Kei’s eyes flickered back down to his food.

Kuroo paused, mid chew, staring at Kei. He looked away, finished chewing, and put down his sandwich.

“What do you mean, Tsukki?” he asked, eyes now focused on the blond.

“Umm, well,” Kei was at a loss for words. He’s only planned the first line. “Wh-what do you think someone’s mantra does? Like do you think they fill in a hole?” _God that sounded stupid. Of course that’s what they do. That’s what everyone says they do._

Kuroo nodded. “I guess I don’t think they just fill a hole. I like to think of mantras as more of the person who makes you the best version of yourself you can be. The person who pushes you in the right direction and knows you inside and out. Or I guess the person who will be that person. You know, since people usually find out there mantras before that point,” he shrugged.

Kei felt his stomach sink. _I don’t think I could be that._ What Kuroo said, he hadn’t thought of that way before. Everyone else just likened it to pieces falling in place, like a puzzle or something. Maybe Kei was wrong, maybe this buzz he’d been feeling, Kuroo _hadn’t_ been feeling. Kei didn’t think he could pull the best out of anyone, especially not someone like Kuroo.

“I’ve never thought of it like that before,” he got out, looking down at his wrist.

“Hey, Tsukki,” the uncertainty in Kuroo’s voice caught Kei’s attention. He looked up. The other was looking back, biting his lip.

“Yeah?” Kei replied.

“Have you… been feeling it too?”

Kei’s brows furrowed slightly. “Feeling what?” _Don’t get your hopes up_.

“The pull,” Kuroo replied softly.

Kei nodded. Hand wrapping around his wrist, absentmindedly rubbing the words there.

“Can I see it? I’ll show you mine,” Kuroo asked, his sleeve already rolled up.

Kei nodded again, waves running through him, excited and terrified all at once. He took his watch off, his other hand still covering the script on his wrist.

They both held them out.

“On the count of three,” Kuroo said. Kei nodded again.

“1…” Kei’s stomach churned. _What if they don’t make sense?_

“2…” _What if they do make sense?_

“3.”

They took their hands off.

Kei peered at the others wrist.

_we go on._

_And then...we go on._

He stared at them.

_And then...we go on._

“I knew it,” Kuroo whispered out. “Since I walked into the coffee shop, I knew it.”

“You what?” Kei looked back up at him in surprise. The other man was grinning at him.

Kuroo took his wrist and ran a finger across the words there.

“I couldn’t put my finger on what it was, but I just _had_ to go over and talk to you. And I always feel this... current, when I’m near you. I knew it had to be you.”

“Why didn’t you say something earlier?” Kei asked, suddenly feeling stupid.

“I didn’t want to push you,” Kuroo his smile fell slightly. “I mean, you barely let me talk to you the first time. If I had burst in and asked to see your wrist, I don’t think I would’ve gotten to see you again. To _know_ you more.”

Kei took a second to think about that then couldn’t help but laugh.

“You’re right.”

Kuroo grinned.

* * *

He ran his thumb over the words on Kuroo’s wrist again.

They were out in the park, laying in the grass, a breeze softly fluttering the leaves in the tree they were under.

“What do you think it means?” Kei asked, rolling to his side to look at Kuroo.

He was beautiful. Eyes closed, long lashes brushing his cheeks, face speckled in light breaking through the branches.

“Our mantra?” he opened one eye, not moving.

“Yeah.”

“What do you think it means?” he smiled. He did that now. Every time Kei asked a question with no real answer. He hated it (but also loved it).

“I asked you first,” he huffed.

He took a minute before he spoke again, turning to face Kei. Smokey-quartz peering straight into honey.

“I think it’s a reminder. One that let’s us know no matter what happens we can get through it. And that we’re stronger together,” he gave Kei a sleepy smile.

Kei leaned in closer, tucking his head beside Kuroo’s.

“A reminder we always have the future,” Kei smiled. _Together._ "I like it."

**Author's Note:**

> And there's number 4! I'm hoping to have the parody piece up later today! That's for reading!


End file.
